Manoli Katakis 
The Ford Mustang Mach-E was revealed earlier this week, and the internet is still fighting about it. On one end, the Mach-E stands as an outright blasphemy to the muscle car community, as it is both an EV and a crossover, with an iconic pony badge embossed front and center. On the other, it signals the expansion of the Mustang name as a brand, and could be the necessary evil to keep the high-octane spirit of the pony car intact otherwise, as regulations from China, the USA and Europe threaten the very existence of the internal combustion engine. Now comes the premise of an electric Ford Mustang coupe. Are we doomed?
The news comes from Greek automotive outlet 4Troxoi (Four Wheels), quoting company president Bill Ford Jr. himself, who gave the media scrum the ever-neutral “never say never” when it comes to the notion of bringing an electric Mustang Coupe to market. In other words – the actual Ford Mustang pony car – could soon offer an electric variant.
Such a vehicle was teased by Ford via the Mustang Lithium Concept at the 2019 SEMA Show earlier this month. The electric pony car is pictured. To punch through all of the pony car performance postings from various tuning companies, Ford and its partner Webasto equipped the Mustang Lithium Concept with an 800-volt battery system, which discharges an incredible 900 horsepower and 1,000 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels. To put it another way, this electric Ford Mustang eclipses both the Mustang Jack Roush Edition and the Shelby American Mustang GT500 Dragon Snake, which were announced that same week.
Should the company offer an electric Ford Mustang, it likely won’t spell the doom of its high-octane gasoline offerings anytime soon. The Mustang’s S550 platform was indeed designed with some form of electrification in mind. Though with the recent launch of the 760 horsepower, 5.2L supercharged V8 fire-breather that is the 2020 Mustang Shelby GT500, it’s hard to imagine the muscle car world being left with synthetic noises, silent quarter miles, and a sterilized simulacrum of what was once more raw and real. We’d like to speculate that an electric Ford Mustang would co-exist alongside a more market-driven lineup that focuses on the internal combustion engine in the not-too-distant future. Which is something that Chevrolet doesn’t seem to be willing to do with the Camaro.
